Financial scams and phishing e-mails

The aim of ‘phishing e-mails’ and scams is to get you to part with your banking details: bank sort code, bank account number, credit card details, personal identification numbers (PIN) etc.

Be aware!

Financial institutions will not contact you via telephone or e-mail:

to ask you for your PIN number. (You may be asked for individual numbers to check your identity, but never for the whole sequence of numbers)

to ask for your bank sort code and account number.

to arrange to transfer money for you.

to send a courier to collect your credit card for any reason. (You would be asked to cut it up if it were to be replaced).

addressed to ‘Dear Customer’. You would be addressed by name.

advising you that you should take immediate action or your account would be closed.

Other phishing e-mails come from individuals who trying to obtain your information by asking you to supply banking details or asking you to click on a link to a fake website resembling an official organisation or financial institution.

Here are some examples of phishing e-mails. (Click on the label to open)